We know people are probably sick of seeing moon photos, but we couldn’t believe how much light the crescent moon was casting before dawn on Thursday, March 12.

Dawn.

We thought we’d had disposable cups and plates onboard, but we couldn’t find them, so Eric had to make a run to a store in Staniel this morning. But other than that, we were pretty much ready for the party today and there wasn’t much to do this morning. Since we were ready, we did a full morning of school, which Keith was unhappy about. The friends who were with us in Pipe Cay all came back either last night or this morning, and Keith was relieved that they’d all arrived.

At 1315, we packed up all the stuff and headed to The Cruiser’s Beach at 1330 to set up.

The festivities began at 1400. We’d spent a lot of time coordinating with the various families that we were friends with to find a date that the majority of them could be there, so there were a lot of people (by cruiser standards, anyways). We’d also put out a public invitation on the various cruiser apps that all kids were welcome, and a couple families with younger kids came, as well as family with teens that we’d never met before. The couple on the Nordhavn 55, Na’Vana, that we’d met last week also came. We think the party was a smashing success and that most people had a good time.

The teens mostly wrestled on the platform.

We did eventually make them come in to sing happy birthday to Keith.

The teens stayed onshore for a little while. They ate cupcakes and snacks while playing a game, then went back out to the platform to wrestle. While the older kids were onshore, the younger kids took over the platform.

The adults mostly hung out and chatted. It started with everyone mingling and chatting with everyone else.

But the group split into two gender circles relatively quickly.

While the kids started in the water from the get go, the adults all started onshore. But it got hot, and eventually both circles moved to the water.

The party broke up around 1730ish. When Traveler, Tangent and Driftwood left, it was extra sad because we had to say our goodbyes for the rest of the season. They were heading south in the morning, and we were going to be heading north soon.

We’re hopeful that we’ll see them again next season. All three of us were exhausted from the long, fun day in the sun, and we had a quiet night onboard. Here was the sunset.